Would you give all your personal driving information to save 5-20 % on your car insurance?.
I wouldn't.
For the past two months a small device in my car, the size of a credit card, has been tracking my every movement.
It knows how far I drive every day, the time of day I’m driving, how quickly I accelerate to get on to the highway and which highway that was. The wireless GPS monitor goes with the Desjardins Insurance Ajusto program which was launched in Ontario last May.
I’ve been testing the device to see how much I might save by exchanging some privacy in return for a discount based on my driving habits. So far, I’m looking at about $150 a year and I’m not sure whether the tradeoff is worth it.
I’m not alone in that. Desjardins has added 50,000 new customers in the past year and only four in ten are opting for Ajusto, despite an incentive of 10 per cent off in the first year just for trying it.
Ajusto is the first of a new tier of car insurance products coming your way. Companies are using wireless technology to monitor how you drive and sell you products based on that. In exchange for personal information, you’ll get a better deal.
Related: Usage-based insurance promises rate relief
Ajusto’s measures are clear and well explained. It monitors the time of day you drive, the distance you drive in a year and how fast you brake and accelerate. It passed a very stringent examination by the insurance regulator, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). The Ontario privacy commissioner approves of the program.
Fred Carter, a senior technology advisor to Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian, says the agency supported the Desjardins application because the criteria was clear, the data collection transparent and consumer privacy protected.
“Ajusto nailed it down,” Carter says.
Alex Veilleux, chief product manager in charge of telematics at Desjardins, says the company expected 25 per cent of new customers would try Ajusto, not 40 per cent. They are very happy with that. In Ontario, the take-up rate may be a testament to just how much drivers are chafing under the highest insurance rates in Canada.
Veilleux says the three things Desjardins is measuring have been shown over time to be the key factors in accidents and claims. He adds that anyone opting for Ajusto will not be punished for bad driving.
“This will never be used to deny you insurance or increase your rates,” he says. “This will never be a punitive thing. It just offers additional rewards.”
After a 10-week trial here are my thoughts:
The device was simple to install and plugs into my car’s diagnostic port underneath the steering column. At first, I found it creepy to think my trip to the grocery store for a dozen eggs was being recorded somewhere. I quickly forgot the device was there.
You can log in to the Desjardins web site and view a rolling tally of your annual savings. Veilleux says this information is a powerful motivator for better driving, because like a video game you’re always aiming for a better score.
Desjardins advertises savings of ‘up to 25 per cent’ but the average is 12 per cent along with the 10 per cent discount in year one for signing up.
I’m at 8 per cent, hurt by the length of my commute and the construction mess on the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Blvd. W. which is giving a new meaning to stop and go traffic.
Here are the details:
Distance driven:
Maximum annual saving: 10 per cent
My saving: 2 per cent
If you drive more than 15,000 km a year no saving at all. As an Oakville commuter I drive more than that and so would normally get nothing. But how’s this for an upside to the road construction: I’m back on the GO Train and driving less. I may sneak under the bar.
Acceleration & braking :
Maximum saving: 10 per cent
My saving: 1 per cent
If you accelerate faster than 13 km/h or more in one second or decelerate 15 km/h or more in one second, the device will consider this sudden.
My dashboard shows almost 300 incidents in 10 weeks, with quick acceleration outnumbering quick braking by 3 to 1.
It’s hard to translate 13 km/h per second into something meaningful. Veilleux says many customers are saying the same thing and Desjardins plans to post videos on its web site at different braking and acceleration speeds to show how it might look.
Time of day :
Maximum saving: 5 per cent
My saving: 5 per cent
I rarely drive between midnight and 5 a.m. This is when accidents are statistically the most deadly because of fatigue and lack of visibility. I drive to work at 6 a.m. It’s before rush hour, but it’s getting light and drivers tend to be more alert.
The insurance industry is lining up at FSCO’s door to apply for these programs. Those approved or already rolled out include CAA Insurance, The Co-operators , Intact and Allstate.
Carter says the biggest danger is ‘function creep,’ where insurers collect all kinds of secondary information and then use it without asking permission or sell it to third parties.
These might include: How often you travel out of province or to the U.S. When exactly you’re prone to accelerating quickly. How often you stop at a McDonalds versus Wendy’s, how long you stay at the grocery store and which ones you visit. Did the kids spend the weekend in Montreal when they borrowed the car or go to Ottawa?
Carter says insurers find it irresistible to collect data. The more they know about you, the more they can calculate risk and design products.
None of this is necessarily bad as long as you know what is being collected and agree to it. Carter says it comes down to a simple test:
“Whenever your information is being used to make a material decision about you, you have a right to see the information. That is the basis of all privacy laws. There should be no secret record keeping.”
Carter is a big user of public transit, but says he would opt for such a policy “if the company was trustworthy.”
As for me, I’m not sure $150 gain is worth what I’m giving up. For now, anyway.
Related: How I cut my car insurance by 30 per cent
Reach investing and personal finance editor Adam Mayers at [email protected]
What Desjardins has learned
Lessons from a year of usage-based insurance in Ontario.
Two-thirds of customers say they are more aware of how they drive;
Half say they think their driving has improved;
A third say the plan makes them consider driving less, using transit or walking;
40 per cent of new customers are signing up for Ajusto, well head of their 25 per cent target.
Desjardins has gained 50,000 new customers in Ontario and Quebec through Ajusto.
https://www.thestar.com/business/pe...worth_8_car_insurance_saving_from_ajusto.html
I wouldn't.
For the past two months a small device in my car, the size of a credit card, has been tracking my every movement.
It knows how far I drive every day, the time of day I’m driving, how quickly I accelerate to get on to the highway and which highway that was. The wireless GPS monitor goes with the Desjardins Insurance Ajusto program which was launched in Ontario last May.
I’ve been testing the device to see how much I might save by exchanging some privacy in return for a discount based on my driving habits. So far, I’m looking at about $150 a year and I’m not sure whether the tradeoff is worth it.
I’m not alone in that. Desjardins has added 50,000 new customers in the past year and only four in ten are opting for Ajusto, despite an incentive of 10 per cent off in the first year just for trying it.
Ajusto is the first of a new tier of car insurance products coming your way. Companies are using wireless technology to monitor how you drive and sell you products based on that. In exchange for personal information, you’ll get a better deal.
Related: Usage-based insurance promises rate relief
Ajusto’s measures are clear and well explained. It monitors the time of day you drive, the distance you drive in a year and how fast you brake and accelerate. It passed a very stringent examination by the insurance regulator, the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO). The Ontario privacy commissioner approves of the program.
Fred Carter, a senior technology advisor to Privacy Commissioner Ann Cavoukian, says the agency supported the Desjardins application because the criteria was clear, the data collection transparent and consumer privacy protected.
“Ajusto nailed it down,” Carter says.
Alex Veilleux, chief product manager in charge of telematics at Desjardins, says the company expected 25 per cent of new customers would try Ajusto, not 40 per cent. They are very happy with that. In Ontario, the take-up rate may be a testament to just how much drivers are chafing under the highest insurance rates in Canada.
Veilleux says the three things Desjardins is measuring have been shown over time to be the key factors in accidents and claims. He adds that anyone opting for Ajusto will not be punished for bad driving.
“This will never be used to deny you insurance or increase your rates,” he says. “This will never be a punitive thing. It just offers additional rewards.”
After a 10-week trial here are my thoughts:
The device was simple to install and plugs into my car’s diagnostic port underneath the steering column. At first, I found it creepy to think my trip to the grocery store for a dozen eggs was being recorded somewhere. I quickly forgot the device was there.
You can log in to the Desjardins web site and view a rolling tally of your annual savings. Veilleux says this information is a powerful motivator for better driving, because like a video game you’re always aiming for a better score.
Desjardins advertises savings of ‘up to 25 per cent’ but the average is 12 per cent along with the 10 per cent discount in year one for signing up.
I’m at 8 per cent, hurt by the length of my commute and the construction mess on the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Blvd. W. which is giving a new meaning to stop and go traffic.
Here are the details:
Distance driven:
Maximum annual saving: 10 per cent
My saving: 2 per cent
If you drive more than 15,000 km a year no saving at all. As an Oakville commuter I drive more than that and so would normally get nothing. But how’s this for an upside to the road construction: I’m back on the GO Train and driving less. I may sneak under the bar.
Acceleration & braking :
Maximum saving: 10 per cent
My saving: 1 per cent
If you accelerate faster than 13 km/h or more in one second or decelerate 15 km/h or more in one second, the device will consider this sudden.
My dashboard shows almost 300 incidents in 10 weeks, with quick acceleration outnumbering quick braking by 3 to 1.
It’s hard to translate 13 km/h per second into something meaningful. Veilleux says many customers are saying the same thing and Desjardins plans to post videos on its web site at different braking and acceleration speeds to show how it might look.
Time of day :
Maximum saving: 5 per cent
My saving: 5 per cent
I rarely drive between midnight and 5 a.m. This is when accidents are statistically the most deadly because of fatigue and lack of visibility. I drive to work at 6 a.m. It’s before rush hour, but it’s getting light and drivers tend to be more alert.
The insurance industry is lining up at FSCO’s door to apply for these programs. Those approved or already rolled out include CAA Insurance, The Co-operators , Intact and Allstate.
Carter says the biggest danger is ‘function creep,’ where insurers collect all kinds of secondary information and then use it without asking permission or sell it to third parties.
These might include: How often you travel out of province or to the U.S. When exactly you’re prone to accelerating quickly. How often you stop at a McDonalds versus Wendy’s, how long you stay at the grocery store and which ones you visit. Did the kids spend the weekend in Montreal when they borrowed the car or go to Ottawa?
Carter says insurers find it irresistible to collect data. The more they know about you, the more they can calculate risk and design products.
None of this is necessarily bad as long as you know what is being collected and agree to it. Carter says it comes down to a simple test:
“Whenever your information is being used to make a material decision about you, you have a right to see the information. That is the basis of all privacy laws. There should be no secret record keeping.”
Carter is a big user of public transit, but says he would opt for such a policy “if the company was trustworthy.”
As for me, I’m not sure $150 gain is worth what I’m giving up. For now, anyway.
Related: How I cut my car insurance by 30 per cent
Reach investing and personal finance editor Adam Mayers at [email protected]
What Desjardins has learned
Lessons from a year of usage-based insurance in Ontario.
Two-thirds of customers say they are more aware of how they drive;
Half say they think their driving has improved;
A third say the plan makes them consider driving less, using transit or walking;
40 per cent of new customers are signing up for Ajusto, well head of their 25 per cent target.
Desjardins has gained 50,000 new customers in Ontario and Quebec through Ajusto.
https://www.thestar.com/business/pe...worth_8_car_insurance_saving_from_ajusto.html
